Square One

Square Deal

The Wine Vending Machine Is Here

You really never know where or when the next truly great achievement in wine will happen.

One moment you’re just some French monk named Dom who decides to use a cork to bottle your carbonated
chardonnay. Suddenly, your name is being mentioned very favorably in hip-hop lyrics.

Or one moment you’re looking for a nightcap in the South Loop. The next thing you know, you’re filling
up your glass of pinot from the wine version of an ATM.

That moment... will be coming soon. Introducing Square One, a comfortable neighborhood hangout
aiming to do for merlot what 7-Eleven did for your Dr Pepper, slated to open Saturday.

We don’t mean to give the wrong impression—the robots haven’t taken over (yet). You’ll find all the
normal human bar accoutrements: river-rock
walls, low-slung seating, cocktails named for James Bond villains. So, yes, bring a date for a
let’s-get-to-know-each-other Oddjob (mezcal, lime, lemongrass). And since they’ll offer
charcuterie from Publican Quality Meats, up the ante with some get-to-know-you duck rillettes.

But when you’re thinking wine, go to the bar and ask for a smart card. Then hit the wine machine and punch
a few buttons. Suddenly, the machine is dispensing one of a dozen varietals at your command in small, medium
and large.